The Chicago Cubs are the kings of baseball after they beat the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series 8-7, ending their 108-year-old title drought. They came back from a 3-1 deficit and took down the Indians in 10 innings.
Two talented rosters, two teams with a combined 176 years without a title, two of the best pitchers in the league, and one final game. It was already a historic series even if you take Game 7 out of the equation, but everything that happened in the final game of the season made it even more special for the Chicago Cubs.
They were down 3-1 and playing their final home game of the series in Game 5. They managed to escape Game 5 with a 3-2 win and then rode their offense in Game 6. Then in a game for the ages, the Cubs gutted their way in Game 7 to an 8-7 victory in 10 innings.
It was like Cubs manager Joe Maddon and Indians manager Terry Francona were playing chess with the world as their audience. The two managers went back and forth, sometimes making the first move or the counter-move, used everything they could think of with their rich baseball minds, and they did it with the utmost respect for each other.
"I want to congratulate Cleveland Indians and [manager Terry Francona]," said Maddon. "It's a difficult time for them, but they are outstanding. I think on the surface looking at it from my perspective, really evenly matched teams that play the game the same way - a lot of passion about it, a lot of respect for the game itself."
"I think it's appropriate to congratulate the Chicago Cubs," said Francona. "That was quite a series, and you knew somebody was going to go home happy, but they deserve a lot of congratulations," he added.
Chicago Cubs won the game as a team but there were several notable individual performances. Catcher David Ross became the oldest player to hit a home run in a Game 7 in the World Series at 39 years old. Second baseman Ben Zobrist was named the World Series MVP, the first Cub to win it since the league started giving the award in 1955. Kyle Schwarber had another crucial hit in the series when he hit a single at the top of the 10 inning.
It's been 108 years since the title came home to Chicago and fans celebrated like it has been that long. Next season, the Chicago Cubs will retain their relatively young roster and some promise more successful seasons are on the horizon.